Apparatus for the treatment of fibre assemblies with fluids



July 23, 1 968 M. CHAIKIN ETAL 3,393,537

APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF FIBRE ASSEMBLIES WITH FLUIDS Filed NOV. 29, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LOOSE WOOL venlor ma COLM Jflmmu Auww on? .mmun/ Attorneyd July 23, 1968 M. CHAIKIN ETAL.

APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF FIBRE ASSEMBLIES WITH FLUIDS Filed Nov. 29, l96

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Attorneys United States Patent 3,393,537 APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF FIBRE ASSEMBLIES WITH FLUIDS Malcolm Chaikin, Centennial Park, Alexander Samson, Greenwich, Mstislav S. Nossar, Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia, assignors to Unisearch Limited, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia, a corporation of New South Wales, Australia Filed Nov. 29 1966, Ser. No. 597,784 Claims priority, application Australia, Dec. 6, 1965, 67,506 7 Claims. (Cl. 68-9) The present invention relates to the treatment of wool and other fibre assemblies with liquids supplied in the form of a jet or jets where it is advantageous to have liquid-fibre contact throughout the assembly in a rapid manner and with a minimum of fibre movement. The invention discloses improved apparatus for preventing macroscopic fibre movement and at the same time allowing intimate liquid-fibre contact.

The invention consists in apparatus for treating a mass of loose fibres with a liquid, consisting of a pair of endless porous conveyor belts arranged to move together over a portion of their paths in a closely spaced parallel relationship, means to introduce loose fibres into the space between the conveyor belts to be formed into a layer between them, means to apply pressure to said belts to compress the layer of fibres to a uniform predetermined extent, said pressure being applied through a pair of plates of low friction, wear resistant material arranged so that one plate is in contact with each of said belts, means for applying at least one jet of liquid to said compressed layer of fibres through at least one aperture in one at least of said plates or at a position adjacent an edge of said plates and through one at least of said belts, a reservoir of treating liquid and means for pumping said liquid from the reservoir to said jet and means for collecting and returning the liquid to the reservoir.

Where the treating fluid is a liquid the jet or jets may be arranged to act above or below the surface of the liquid in the reservoir.

Preferably one of said plates is fixed in relation to and supported on a fixed bed at one side of one of said belts, the plate being perforated and supported on a bed of porous material to permit the escape of fluid passing through the layer of fibres, the said pressure being applied to the other plate by means of weights or springs or the like, the other plate being arranged at the other side of the other of said belts and being held against movement with that belt.

Apparatus according to the present invention may be utilised to great advantage in the carbonising of scoured loose wool where it is required to impregnate the vegetable matter particles (burrs) present in such wool with a solution of sulphuric acid to such an extent that sumcient acid is absorbed by the said vegetable particles to render them brittle and friable so as to be easily separated from the wool fibres by mechanical action prior to neutralising the acid remaining on the fibres.

Other applications of apparatus according to the invention are in the scouring washing, dyeing and neutralising of loose wool fibres and fibrous assemblies and fibre slivers and in any treatment of wool fibres with jets of liquid in which it is desirable to minimise fibre movement. However, for illustrative and explanatory purposes the carbonising of dry scoured loose wool is discussed, as in this case, fibre movement is energised by an internal fibre source as well as by external mechanical forces.

In present day textile processing, this procedure is commonly known as carbonising and may be carried out using an aqueous solution of sulphuric acid (with or without a 3,393,537 Patented July 23, 1968 synthetic detergent) which is caused to act on the loose wool. By loose wool is meant wool fibres whose general configuration is such that some are and some are not considered to be in a parallel position relative to each other. In the conventional system, loose wool is usually acidified by passing it through a succession of tanks or bowls (the latter term being normally used in the industry) containing the acid solution. In the bowls loose wool is moved along by mechanical action and fluid friction forces and is mainly submerged in the liquor, except between bowls when it is elevated out and passed through squeeze rollers, and into the next bowl.

While this method is effective in acidifying the vegetable matter to a degree sufiicient to separate it from the wool fibres in later processing it has three great drawbacks which take place during acidification, namely (1) the entanglement of the loose wool fibres relative to each other (2) a limited control over the duration of acid action on wool and burrs and hence the possibility of loss of mechanical strength due to chemical damage to individual wool fibres and (3) the necessity to have a separate bowl and a costly mechanical conveying system for every type or concentration of the process liquid used in the treatment and as a consequence the requirement that a certain fixed amount of floor space has to be allowed for each process stage. This leads to another drawback in that the time of transfer through each stage cannot be made less than a certain minimum determined by the stage length.

The first two drawbacks affect carding of wool, the next operation after carbonising and neutralising in which loose carbonised wool is disentangled in order to arrange the individual fibres in a sliver in substantially parallel relationship. During this carding operation wool fibres break, due to the method of disentanglement, and the extent of fibre breakage is proportional to the degree of entanglement and the loss of mechanical strength of the carbonised wool. In wool processing, the longer fibres are considerably more valuable than the shorter ones, most of the short ones being obtained by fibre breakage and therefore it is highly desirable that during the carbonising process of the loose wool, entanglement of wool fibres be kept to a minimum and the duration of acidification be strictly controlled so as to restrict the loss of mechanical strength by wool fibres to a minimum. The third drawback introduces economic and technological limitations on the number and kind of process steps that can be effectively incorporated into a given process. Thus, each additional type or concentration of the process liquor which it mayv be desirable to use in the process requires a separate bowl, a mechanical conveying system and large volumes of process chemicals. This is costly both in equipment costs and in space requirements. Furthermore, the requirement that each liquor stage requires a minimum residence time under a given set of conditions precludes the use of processstages which are adversely affected by leaching, diffusion and such other time-dependent phenomena as to be made ineffective or impractical unless carried out as quickly as possible. For example, the excess of concentrated acid solution wetting the fibres and the burrs can be washed off by a jet of solution of weaker concentration only if such washing off is immediately followed by squeeze roll action to remove the weaker solution. Such an operation would be impractical in any equipment involving a substantial time delay between jet application and squeezing because acid contained in the burrs and wool would be removed by leaching into the weaker solution before the solution is removed in the squeeze rolls.

Similarly, introduction of surface active agents into the acid liquor, to protect the wool fibres from the chemical damage, is often difficult and uneconomical as the presence of surfactants promotes the removal of residual grease from the carbonised wool during its relatively long time of constant with the acid liquor in the bowl. This grease contaminates large volumes of process chemicals contained in the bowl and adversely afiects the economics of the process. An application of a quick spray of an acid solution from a small volume section of plant containing surface active material to be immediately followed by squeezing action would introduce the protective chemical into the wool without long contact with an emulsification of the residual =wool grease. Should contamination with grease occur only a small volume of acid solution would be affected.

Whereas the first two of the abovementioned draw backs, the entanglement and the lack of control over the duration of acidification can be overcome by use of the apparatus described in the specification of U8. Patent No. 3,199,126 the third drawback that is the necessity to provide costly and space consuming plant for every chemical stage of the process and inability to utilise processes adversely affected by significant residence times in the equipment, can be eliminated by using apparatus according to the present invention when applied to carbonising of wool. In this apparatus loose wool is conveyed and treated under substantially the same conditions as outlined for compression jet treatment described in the specification of the abovementioned patent, with the additional advantage that the device for carrying out each process step requires no separate large bowl or separate drum-type mechanical conveying system and consequently uses much less space and much smaller residence time in the stage for the treated product. This residence time could be reduced almost to zero thus enabling new process steps, such as rinsing ofi excess acid and rinsing with a detergent containing solution, to be carried out without the necessity of prolonged contact in expensive and bulky equipment which would make such new steps both technologically impractical and economically unjustifiable.

Finally, this device enables many types and concentrations of process liquors to be used simultaneously in different jets separated by a set of squeeze rollers without the expensive necessity of providing a separate bowl with a separate mechanical drum conveying system for each type of process liquor.

An apparatus according to the invention is described by way of example, as applied to wool carbonising, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a part sectional elevation of a single stage and FIG. 2 is a part sectional elevational of a series of stages, of this form of the invention.

The apparatus to be described may be used in a string of stages for a combined scouring, carbonising, rinsing, neutralising and dyeing train based on a single length of porous conveyor or as any one stage of each of the above processes.

In FIG. 1 tank 3 contains the process liquor at a level L; the liquor is picked up by pump 10 and discharged under pressure via the jet I through a layer of compressed wool (not shown) held between two porous continuous conveyor belts 4 and 5.

Conveyor belt 4 is driven off the top squeeze roll 2 which is driven by the motor 2a the lower roll being driven by motor 2b while an idle roll 6 is provided to complete the top conveyor loop. Conveyor belt 5 is driven by main rolls 1 running in synchronism with the squeeze rolls 2, one of the main rolls 1 being driven by the motor 1a.

Loose wool is fed by means not shown to the porous conveyor belt 5 and is dragged by roll 6 between the two porous conveyor belts 4 and 5 and is compressed by a force due to the action of Weights or springs indicated at W to a predetermined extent such that the fibres are held against movement relative to each other while allowing free access of liquid from the jet to all fibres, the force being applied to a first plate a lined with low friction and wear resistant polytetrafluorethylene sheet or a similar material. The downwards pressure exerted by the plate a is resisted by the base of the machine (I through a screen 0 consisting of a layer of coarse stainless steel mesh, covered by a perforated sheet of polytetrafiuorethylene or any other low friction, wear resistant material constituting a second plate b. Plates of suitable material having a coating of tetrafluorethylene adhered thereto may be used or where the treating liquid has good lubricating qualities sheets of a material such as polished stainless steel may be used.

The perforations in the plate 12 and the screen c are provided to assist in the drainage of the jet liquor after it has penetrated through the wool mat. The top plate a is provided with a hinged lever system 7 attached to wall bracket 8 designed to prevent the movement of the plate together with the conveyor belt 4. The bottom plate 1; is attached to the base support d. A slot 9 of a minimum required width is provided in the plate a to enable a stream of liquid from jet 1 to reach the wool. The jet J consists preferably of a series of jet nozzles arranged side by side to extend over the full width of the Slot 9. The acidified wool is lifted off the conveyor belt 5 by a beater 11 driven by a motor 11a. A flap 12 of flexible rubber extending across the reservoir and forming a seal against the squeeze roll 2 is shown to illustrate a manner in which the liquid containing portion of the tank is divided into separate compartments, the contents of different compartments being isolated, thereby permitting a number of stages to be used in a single tank.

FIG. 2 shows in purely diagrammatic form an apparatus made up of three sections A, B, C, each of which is constructed essentially in the same manner as the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. Section B however differs in incorporating two sets of jets. The same reference numerals with or without a sufiix are used to indicate similar arts and details of construction such as the weights, springs or other means for applying pressure to the fibers have been omitted for the sake of clarity.

FIG. 2 illustrates the possibility of treating the wool fibres in section A with a jet of liquid I immediately after they have been squeezed between the pair of rollers to the left of the jet and before entering between the upper and lower plates. In this case the jet passes through the fibres at a point adjacent to the edge of the plates.

In section B the jets J2 and J3 are applied below the level of the treating liquid and from opposite sides of the layer of fibres.

In section C the jet I4 is applied to the layer of fibres immediately before squeezing between the pair of rollers to the right of the jet.

FIG. 2 illustrates how apparatus according to the invention may be set up to enable a layer of fibres to be subjected to a sequence of treatments by means of jets of different liquids.

The embodiments of the invention described above are given by way of example only to assist in understanding the invention and not by way of limitation.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for treating a mass of loose fibres with a liquid, consisting of a pair of endless porous conveyor belts arranged to move together over a portion of their paths in a closely spaced parallel relationship, means to introduce loose fibres into the space between the conveyor belts to be formed into a layer between them, means to apply pressure to one or both of said belts to compress the layer of fibres to a uniform predetermined extent said pressure being applied through a pair of plates of low friction, wear resistant material arranged so that one plate is in contact with each of said belts, means for applying at least one jet of liquid to said compressed layer of fibres through at least one aperture in one at least of said plates or at a position adjacent an edge of said plates and through at least one of said belts, a reservoir of treating liquid and means for pumping said liquid from the reservoir to said jet and means for collecting and returning the liquid to the reservoir.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of said plates is fixed in relation to and supported on a fixed bed at one side of one of said belts, the plate being perforated and supported on a bed of porous material to permit the escape of fluid passing through the layer of fibres, the said pressure being applied to the other plate by means of weights or springs or the like, the other plate being arranged at the other side of the other of said belts and being held against movement with that belt.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for applying the jet and the plates are arranged beneath the level of liquid in the reservoir.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein a pair of squeeze rollers is arranged to squeeze liquid from the layer of fibres immediately after the application of a jet of liquid to them.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein two pairs of said plates are arranged beneath the level of liquid in the reservoir at positions spaced apart along the length of the conveyor one said means for applying a jet of liquid being associated with each pair of plates and being arranged so that the jets of liquid produced thereby enter the layer of fibres from opposite sides thereof.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the liquid containing portion of said reservoir is divided into separate compartments by means of a flap of flexible liquid impervious material extending across said reservoir and making sealing contact against the surface of a squeeze roll in said reservoir.

7. Apparatus for treating a mass of loose fibres with a liquid comprising a plurality of pieces of apparatus as claimed in claim 1 arranged side by side with means for transferring a layer of fibres from one piece of apparatus to the next whereby the layer of fibres may be subjected to a series of treatments in sequence.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,064,512 12/1936 Wilson et al. 689 2,366,136 12/1944 Waldstein 689 2,724,955 11/1955 Spooner 6844 X 3,199,126 8/1965 Chaikin et al. 8-156 FOREIGN PATENTS 760,058 10/ 1956 Great Britain.

WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR TREATING A MASS OF LOOSE FIBRES WITH A LIQUID, CONSISTING OF A PAIR OF ENDLESS POROUS CONVEYOR BELTS ARRANGED TO MOVE TOGETHER OVER A PORTION OF THEIR PATHS IN A CLOSELY SPACED PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP, MEANS TO INTRODUCE LOOSE FIBRES INTO THE SPACE BETWEEN THE COMVEYOR BELTS TO BE FORMED INTO A LAYER BETWEEN THEM, MEANS TO APPLY PRESSURE TO ONE OR BOTH OF SAID BELTS TO COMPRESS THE LAYER OF FIBRES TO A UNIFORM PREDETERMINED EXTENT SAID PRESSURE BEING APPLIED THROUGH A PAIR OF PLATES OF LOW FRICTION, WEAR RESISTANT MATERIAL ARRANGED SO THAT ONE PLATE IS IN CONTACT WITH EACH OF SAID BELTS, MEANS FOR APPLYING AT LEAST ONE JET OF LIQUID T SAID COMPRESSED LAYER OF FIBRES THROUGH AT LEAST ONE APERTURE IN ONE AT LEAST OF SAID PLATES OR AT A POSITION ADJACENT AN EDGE OF SAID PLATES AND THROUGH AT LEAST ONE OF SAID BELTS, A RESERVOIR OF TREATING LIQUID FOR PUMPING SAID LIQUID FROM THE RESERVOIR TO SAID JET AND MEANS FOR COLLECTING AND RETURNING THE LIQUID TO THE RESERVOIR. 